Ace of Spades
by BeingWhoIWishIWas
Summary: Spades is one of many contractors that works for the same group as the Black Reaper. She's sent in to infiltrate the Reapers team until they decide whether the Black Reaper is worth his trouble anymore, in which case she will be responsible for the assassination and cover up. Is it possible that the Syndicate have made amistake in allowing the dangerous contractor out of her cage?
1. Chapter 1

Hey people! So this takes place middle of the series, and it's got OCs and lots of assassin-ness. I've only seen the anime so if the manga has extra stuff that I missed or messed up, I apologize beforehand. Also, some of the missions they go on won't always align with the series, so just beware (most will but every now and again I might add something. I don't know yet)

* * *

"What? That's it? Surveillance and one _possible_ hit?" I sigh, bored already. Old Man smells like smoke as always and his face is covered by his hat. I don't like him. He isn't a fan of contractors and he's constantly trying to figure out what my contract's price and power is; his superiors won't tell him for whatever reason.

"Yes. That's all. One kill. But he's a contractor so it might not be as easy as you think. Don't get arrogant you little brat." He scoffs. "Plus, until they decide whether or not to kill him, you've got to protect him."

I narrow my eyes into what I know is an icy glare. Doesn't that idiot know I could kill him in a second, even without using my contract? (Having a contract isn't an excuse to slack off on other forms of fighting; after all, if I fight contractor with the same power I do, I don't want to leave winning to mere chance.)

"I'm not a child how thinks she's invincible. I know pain and failure..." I pause, and a smirk comes to my face, "Though not nearly as much as you do."

His face freezes into a stony expression, "Since when do contractors get angry?"

I shrug and say, "You wouldn't understand it if I explain it to you; you're the most stubborn person I know; even if I did explain it, you simply wouldn't fathom or believe it."

He snarls, "You calling me stupid?"

I shrug my shoulders again, "Of course not. Challenging you would be irrational." He missed the glint in my eyes as I say it, but it's better that he does. It's funny; I can't explain the way I am either.

This response, he understands; I'm back to just being a plain old contractor now, not a complex being with emotions after all. I sigh and mockingly salute him as I'm dismissed. I stalk out happily; time to cut my hair.

* * *

I run my fingers through my short, scruffy, reddish-brown hair. I'm pleased to have my hair into a practical pixie cut, though the bangs are a little long for my liking. I slip my two hoops and one stud into the little holes in my ears, first the three on the right, then the left. My wardrobe for today is dark-colored jeans, black combat boots, a plain blue t-shirt with a brown jacket that reaches to my waist only. Nothing interesting or spectacular. I reach the train station in the nick of time, and my new ID (it's odd actually using my name on anything, to being able to tell the truth when they ask my name or birthday. It's rather uncomfortable, actually.) I board with my duffel bag and get off at Tokyo without trouble. I walk to the address of the apartment Old Man gave me; headquarters for the next few months. I knock on the door what I assume is where the lady who owns the place lives. Supposedly the Black Reaper lives in the complex too; it was unclear whether I'm supposed to kill him, or someone who's coming to kill him. Old Man hasn't decided whether to keep him around or not yet.

"Hello?" I call, putting on my "human mask" as Old Man calls it; I easily integrate with regular people, so they rarely notice that I'm unusual.

"Huh? Who is it?!" A elderly lady bustles through the door and inspects me. She opens her mouth to speak but I beat her to it, "I'm here for the apartment."

"Oh! Well, Okay." She narrows her eyes at me in inspection. Her eyes linger on my combat boots, earrings and short hairstyle. I smile at her innocently.

"You don't have any tattoos, do ya? You're not in a gang or some kinda trouble maker, right?" Her eyes huge and trying to figure out what to make of me.

"Uh, no." I say truthfully, "Really, I'm not. Sorry if my appearance isn't exactly normal but it works well for the job I've had for a while now."

"You have a job?!" She says shocked, as we walk up the stairs.

I nod and tell her that I'm going to be an assistant to a private detective. It's only a half-lie. I'm going into have an interview in a few weeks. "It's best to be a little scary looking in that line of work; from my experience at least."

She scoffs and rolls her eyes, "Dearie, you aren't even intimidating. What's your name again?"

"Alyss." I force a laugh; she has no idea.

She shows me the small apartment and points to the end of the hall, "Li lives there, he's a nice kid here for college. Down below on the first level are a bunch of hooligans. They're all about your age, so you'll probably fit right in." She observes.

I nod, thank her and she leaves me to the very empty space. I set down the duffle bag and put what I've brought into drawers. My stomach grumbles at me; a little unhappy from being empty for a while now. I frown, shove some money into my pocket, grab an extra set of emergency tools and open the door to head out.

"Uh!" I grunt as I just barely stop in time to save myself from running straight into some one.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" The guy says. "You must be the new neighbor!" He's got black hair and is quite a bit taller than me. He seems a little off, but I'm not sure what it is. Considering the only other people in the complex are "hooligans", it's possible this is the Black Reaper with his "human mask" on. I smile and apologize.

"I'm Li." He says cheerfully.

"My name's Alyss."

"That's interesting." Li says politely. I nod, say "bye" and head out to find some food.

As I leave I notice a black cat hanging around the place, staring almost angrily at the apartment that Li went in. Yeah, Li must be the Black Reaper, and that cat his teammate like Old Man said there would be. I shake it off and wander around, find a ramen stand and start walking home through the city. It's a long walk but I'm not opposed to it.

Suddenly, a there's a bright light; definitely from a contractor; from the roof of the building across the street. I sigh and walk across the street already making up my mind and wondering why I'm such an odd contractor. I peer through the window; they're not letting anyone out. Fine, I'll just get up there myself. I walk over to the hotel next door and slip inside of it. I take an elevator to the highest floor and promptly climb out onto the fire escape. A grin spreads across my face as I get to the roof and peer out over the drop. I slip piece of cloth over my whole head pulling it down so only my hair is showing, from my forehead to chin (ears included) is totally covered in a black mask. This building's a little taller than the one I need to get to so I'm in luck. I take one of my many emergency tools and fire a lightweight steel cable across, and using my belt to zip-line down onto the roof. A masked man is dodging droplets of blood that fly towards him from the other mans wrist.

Who I assume is the Black Reaper notices me first, "If you want to live, don't get that blood on you!" On cue, the guy with elf-ears snaps his fingers and the blood splattered on the wall explodes. Interesting power, his payment might be high though.

I stand still with my arms crossed and feet planted firmly. I will my contract power into effect and feel the chill spread over me as my skin thickens and smooths over.

Both stare at me for a second, but Elf flings his wrist, sending blood flying at me. I dodge it smoothly and drop into a roll, "What did I ever do to you?" I laugh, narrowing my eyes at Elf.

"You're in my way." He deadpans.

"Oh, brilliant! Well, now you're in my way since you're trying to kill Mask over there. Which for whatever reason, my boss doesn't want to happen." I say, smirking under my mask.

"What makes you think you can protect me?" Black Reaper scoffs as we dodge tiny explosive drops of blood.

I shrug my shoulders, "Well I've got orders so that's all I can say."

The Black Reaper's stoic mask stares at me.

Elf-man snarls as I charge forward, picking up more metal from the floor to add to myself and forming a short, jagged point added on to each of my fingers like claws on steroids.

I manage to rake my claws across his back, but realize they've now got blood on them. Cursing, I dispel the metal from my arms away from me, just seconds before he reacts and snaps his fingers.

The metal is replaced but I'd say I have twenty minutes of activity left before I need to make a payment. Usually I can last a few hours but I haven't made payment in a while and I've used my power before. My payment is more of an active-time per payment. It's bizarre, but I don't mind it much anymore.

Eventually, Black Reaper gets cornered on the roof and my power's drained; at this point I'm just using my other fighting skills to stay alive. I bury a knife in Elf's shoulder, he howls in pain, rips the blade out of his shoulder, whirls around and nearly gets me, but his blood just splats on the floor beside me. He turns again towards Black Reaper and flings blood towards him.

No one moves a muscle, and Black Reaper's head is turned away. Black Reaper runs his head to face Elf, showing the blood that coats his mask. Elf snaps and the Black Reaper goes tumbling off the roof.

* * *

Well, that was idiotic. It's surprising I actually escaped unscathed. I pull the Ace of Spades out from my pocket. It's flimsy now; I'll need another soon. It used to be crisp and shiny, now it's barely holding together. I use my nail to make a tiny cut on my hand and smear one drop of blood on the card, and make one tear in the side. The card has all shades of red; some faded to pink, others still crimson. It's funny, anyone who saw me do this would think it's my payment. It's only part of it. The rest of my payment is a little more interesting than a torn-up and bloody playing card. I sit myself down in one of the hallways, knowing Elf-man isn't too near. I close my eyes and I'm immobilized. I can't move, not even my eyes or my lungs. It's like I'm frozen. And if I don't choose to make it before a certain time, it chooses for me. It has gotten me into trouble before. It's unpredictable, and the amount of time 'frozen' totally depends on some unknown factor, but tearing and bleeding on an Ace of Spades signals that I'm making my payment, I guess. So, my payment is time, in a way.

When I open my eyes again, I glance at the clock to find I've been out for ten minutes. Not bad but not great either. I stand up and get a move on. Whatever's going on here, the Black Reaper's neck deep in it and my mission is intelligence so I'd better find out. I exhale sharply before racing down the hallway, towards the faint sound of screaming.

When I finally get in the room, some girl in a white dress has a hole in the center of her chest (courtesy of Elf-man, no doubt.) and Elf-man is lying in a puddle of water with his face half-seared off. The lady in a red dress looks sad, but collected about this event and a big guy next to her is barely containing his freak-out. Black Reaper is gone if he was ever here. I doubt the fall would have killed him, and the blood on his face was too much to be Elf's.

"Was he here?" I ask the lady in red, "The man in the white mask."

"Who are you?" She demands, sounding like she's interrogating me.

I shrug, "No one. But No One needs to know he was here, OK?" I'm irritated with this lady, her mind is obviously not realizing that I'm dangerous, or she just doesn't care. I'm not sure which is more annoying.

She grinds her teeth together and nods to the big guy and says, "Cuff her. Take her for interrogation."

Cop? Huh. "You couldn't just tell me where he went?" I deadpan, "It'd be so much easier."

Neither cop replies and I shrug as the big guy moves towards me with handcuffs. I crouch down and spring up, leaping up and kicking him in the chest. I land in a neat roll and stand up and race through the room and out the window. I free-fall for about five feet and then reach my arms out for the fire escape and hide underneath it until they look out the window and can't find me. I make my way down the escape quickly and silently.

* * *

I head back to the apartment, but just before I unlock the door, I hear someone say something.

"It was you, then."

I turn to face Black Reaper, smiling, "And you are Li. Lovely to meet you, again."

He nods, "Who's your boss?"

"Oh, nobody important. However, your boss and mine have an...agreement." I explain slyly, after all, I can't just tell him our boss is the same, but I have to gain his trust somehow, don't I? "So I might be helping you and your cat out every once in a while."

The cat jumps down from the roof and glares at me, "The name is Mao. And I'm not his cat."

"Of course not." I apologize.

I turn and enter my apartment, but keep my ear against the door.

"Do you think she's telling the truth?" Black Reaper asks Mao.

"I don't know, Hei. I guess we'll find out sooner or later." Mao replies.

"We should find out sooner if possible. Her power is strong, and I'm not sure the extent of them yet, or her payment. We should try to find out." Hei-formerly-referred to-as-Black-Reaper says.

And with that, they walk away.

* * *

I check my home phone for messages. Old Man called in the code, "Faeries don't exist, little girl." Which basically means I did alright today. "Call me back later" means that I'm not doing to good, "You're on your own" means that I'm in danger and need to clear out; and erase all evidence that I had anything to do with Old Man and his little society. The codes are so random, and really, Faeries? C'mon, now. I chuckle slightly to myself, and walk into the kitchen.

The phone rings though the near empty apartment. I hurry over and answer it.

I don't say anything into the phone.

"Sedaps, you are now working with BR and the cat. Report to area four-four-oh at seven hundred hours." And with that, the line goes dead. Really? "Sedaps" as a code name? All that is "Spades" backwards! No wonder we have leaks! I get ready for bed and change into my pajamas. Honestly, Old Man, what were you thinking? I wonder as I drift into sleep.

* * *

My alarm blares though the thick morning air. I hit it and get up a little tired; the people downstairs are ridiculously noisy. I wander around until I remember which drawer I put my clothes in and strap a few knives to myself before putting fresh clothes on over my bulletproof suit. I shove my mask in my pocket along with my Ace of Spades and get out the door in time to grab a croissant from a nearby bakery. Then, I make my way towards area 440; a little playground a little ways off the busiest streets. I reach up to smooth my hair and smirk when I realize I don't have to play the part of a diva anymore; not to mention I barely have any hair left to smooth! The thought amuses me a little, in a vague, distant way. It's funny, I think people believe that contractors don't have emotions because they don't affect us in the same way as ordinary people. We have them, they're just suppressed by rationality and reason, which I don't particularly mind.

I sit on the bench near the outskirts of the park. That black cat called Mao is napping on the playground, so I'm sure that this is the right place. A scruffy-looking, short, older guy walks up wearing a brown hat and coat. He narrows his eyes at me, but sits down on the other side of the bench. Hei is the last one to join us.

"What are you doing here?" He asks me.

I don't look up, "I was told to come. So here I am." Hei nods and sits by Grumpy the dwarf.

Grumpy starts talking, "We've got a bit of a situation. Hei and..." He pauses and asks me my code name, "Hei and Spades are going into PANDORA...into Hell's Gate."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks you, ulquorracifer66 for your review! :) Anyways, so this chapter is going to be the start of Hei's little inside-the-wall adventure :P Some of Spades backstory as well (after all, you sometimes see or "regain" what you've lost within the wall, don't you? But not too much background until the next few chapters...) So basically, I get to be an evil little author in this chapter (yay!) Obviously I've done some major tweaking to the plot so please don't flip out at me XD

Thanks for reading...and hopefully reviewing!

-BeingWhoIWishIWas

* * *

Maybe this whole mission is just an extended punishment, I'm not actually here to infiltrate and potentially assassinate; this is just the flipping Syndicates way of hurting me more. They finally let me out of my prison but going into the Wall is just another cage. I shrug my shoulders and deadpan, "Any specifics, Grumpy?"

Grumpy turns rapidly, forgetting protocol and absolutely seethes, "What did you say to me, Clubs?"

"It's Spades. And I asked, Grumpy, if we got to know what to do or if I can just wander around the Wall and start setting off explosives." I say in an aloof manner, I cross my arms over my chest and stare down the sputtering, short-fuse of a man.

Grumpy's mouth twists unpleasantly into a sneer, "No, you're there to recover an artifact that PANDORA took from behind the wall, it's called the meteor shard. You leave at noon; be at the bus stop by then."

I raise one eyebrow skeptically, "And why does the Syndicate want it badly enough to send us inside the gate?"

Grumpy narrows his eyes, "You're awfully full of questions for a Contractor."

My mouth settles into a straight line, "I am merely reasoning whether it is more logical to do as the Syndicate wishes or face the consequences rather than go into the wall. Ask anyone who's worked with me before; this is not uncommon for me to weigh a situation even if the answer is obvious."

Hei nods at nothing and Grumpy answers, "Look you little rat, do as they ask or they'll kill you and possibly the rest of us!"

I turn and face him, my face void of any expression except my stone-cold eyes, "It is curious that you thought anything I do would be for your sake. Why would you use it as an argument when you are pushing me into danger to save your own skin? Am I not allowed to save my own if I wish? You and Old man insist that contractors have no emotion yet think that we would be susceptible sacrificing our well being for you."

Mao steps in, but Hei gets there first. He puts his hand on my shoulder firmly and I realize that I've stood up...is this...rage? I scoff internally. No, that's ridiculous. Hei narrows his eyes and asks if I'm coming to PANDORA. I don't look at any of them, I just whirl around and stalk out into the city. I have a few hours to kill before I have to see any of those meatheads again, so I'll make the best of it; there's a job interview that's open to walk-in's so I think I might head that direction. Some private investigator or something. It's a good cover and I'll have a viable reason to be just about anywhere I want. The only better job would be a cop, but that's not likely. I walk through the narrow street and peer up at the little apartment-office. I step through the unlocked door and walk up the rickety stairs.

"Hello?" I call out, peering around, my human mask slipping as easy as my actual one.

A pink-haired girl springs up in my face, "Hi! Are you here for a private investigator?"

"I'm here for a job application..." I say feigning embarrassment.

"Oh! So do you, like, have any experience in investigation? Anything?"

"Yeah, a little."

"You're hired!" She says cheerily.

I raise an eyebrow, but shrug. "Works for me."

"Boss will be back in an hour or so...when can you start?"

"Next month...?" I suggest apologetically.

"That's great! We can finish up this case and have a brand new one by the time you're back!" the pink-haired girl exclaims.

"Um, okay." I reply, backing away slowly, "Well, since I have time before I catch the train I'm just gonna get a bite to eat, okay?"

Pinkie nods and goes to the computer in the corner and looks at anime characters, "Oh yeah, you'll meet the boss later, like when you get back, okay?"

I nod and walk out of the building. A ramen stand is within fifty yards of the Private investigators office and I happily sit down and order a few bowls. I wonder what PANDORA's going to be like. It's said that you can regain what's lost in that place; whether you want to or not. It's said to drive people insane. I roll my eyes to myself and pay the ramen stand owner before leaving for the bus stop. I figure that it's better to be one of the Syndicates trained dogs than to be by them, at least, for now. Besides, if I'm going to run for it, I ought to kill the Black Reaper first. I don't want him on my tail.

The wind picks up a bit, and gray clouds roll in slowly as the leaves swirl in circles. I pull the collar of my jacket up and stuff my hands in my pockets. My eyes narrow at the world as the bus pulls in. I pay the fare and immediately spot "Li" sitting towards the middle of the bus. I take a seat a few rows in front of him by the window. The bus jerks to a start and we're on our way. I'll get off a few blocks from the PANDORA facility outside of the wall (people have to apply for jobs somewhere). When the bus finally pulls into the loop at the facility, me, Hei and maybe a dozen other people get off the bus. I glance over my shoulder after I exit the bus; there are at least seven other buses behind us and four in front, so it's going to be a crowded trip into the Gate.

I stare out the window again as we near Hell's Gate. My gaze lazily wanders over the deteriorating urban landscape; the closer to the Gate you come the more the standard of living decreases, if anyone lives there at all. At this point it's all abandoned. Those gray clouds are still moseying in towards Tokyo. It's a shame I'll miss the storm. I remember that I used to love just standing out in the rain, not that it matters anymore. It's funny, my old memories. I only have a few, and they seem distant and fuzzy. Do most contractors retain a majority of their memories? Do they observe them rather than experiencing as I do? I admit, I am curious about certain things about being a contractor; memories and faded emotions mostly though. Also, if we're said to have no emotions; why are we so often proud or even gleeful when we accomplish something of personal importance? Why do we even still retain things of "personal importance"? My forehead begins to ache and I realize that I've been scowling for a good while now. I rub my fingers on my furrowed brow, trying to make it fade into a more stolid expression. It's odd; the one human emotion that is still vivid and present is anger. I wonder if that has something to do with my past. I've tried to recall what made me so angry but I can't tell if something would have made me angry back then or not. I shrug to myself and force myself to relax a little and practice a smile in the reflection of the glass window.

"Are you alright, Kiddo?" The older lady asks from the seat next to mine.

My eyebrows shoot up in surprise as I turn to face the gray-haired woman, slipping Alyss over my face like a mask once again, "Of course, why do you ask?"

Grannie smiles and her eyes crinkle up kindly, "Well, you were scowling and then you had this painful looking smile plastered all over your face...I've seen that look on my daughters face enough times to know that something's not going right for you at the moment."

I smile and hope it looks genuine, "Oh, I'm just thinking is all. Nothing to worry about."

She raises an eyebrow and gives me one of those funny looks only old people can pull off that's amused, arrogant yet totally trusting at the same time. She slapped my shoulder surprisingly hard (this lady's arm is skinnier than a goose's neck!) and promptly, and quite loudly declares that I need a man. I sink down in my seat and purse my lips in irritation so that I'm sure I look like one of those anime chibi's with blue stripes under their eyes. I nearly smirk at that image; a contractor chibi with auburn hair and six ear piercings? Ha! I allow myself a half-amused chuckle and resume my staring out the window.

"But honestly, young lady, what the hell's eating you?" She says. My eyes widen at her curse but I shrug it off and reply, "Nothing of importance."

She asks again, and this time I reply, "Grannie, it's best if you didn't know." That shuts her up real quick and she crosses her goose-neck arms and huffs something about stupid kids. I roll my eyes and glare out the window until the bus rolls into the Gate. I knew there was a reason I don't like people.

* * *

The next few days consist of extensive testing. I place the little clear patch just behind my ear that supposedly stops the detection of contractor powers. They hook me up to a lie detector that senses brain waves and ask me why I want to enter the Gate.

I sigh and answer as their prejudiced minds expect a pixie-cut, pierced twenty-something-year-old to answer, "Hey, they pays good for the janitor job and my boyfriend just dumped me; free lodging, food plus pay? Can't say no to that, sweetheart."

The people in lab coats look mildly annoyed but pass me anyway. I smirk at them on the way out for good measure. After all, no one expects someone who's there to steal something to stick out like that. Better to stick out a little than to be _too_ average. Besides, I'm less likely to slip up and be normal when I'm supposed to be a young-adult punk than if I'm supposed to be normal and get a little to annoyed for my own good.

* * *

As the crowd heads for the last security check-point (classic pat-down and metal detectors) some girl gets pulled away after screaming something or other. Hei turns to look at her as they were standing near each other, and I nod in his direction. He turns and shrugs his shoulders. So he saw me then; I'm surprised (I'm medium height but I'm surrounded by stupid tall people.)

I wonder what the deal was with that one girl that got dragged away. Perhaps she's the first to fall prey to the alleged curse of the Gate; regaining what you've lost. I exhale deeply, trying to relax; every muscle in my body is tensed to spring like there's a threat my mind hasn't comprehended yet.

* * *

There is a feeling about this place, I think as chills race up my spine for the twenty-something-th time today. We're walking down the hallway as a group of janitors on the grand tour. Hei manages to fall in the bad graces of the manager almost immediately, but I don't miss the hand off of a note. He rubs his left wrist and I know that there's a contact meeting soon. I figure that I'll be filled in to the details soon enough. It's funny; I swear that Hei is utterly fascinated by the high-power telescopes in the next room, which happens to be the one room we're not allowed in as janitorial staff. Tough luck for him I suppose.

"Hey!" I say, irritation creeping into my tone as someone bumps into me. The slip of paper finds my fingers and I glare at the back of Hei's head for good measure. Equipment room it is.

I wander into the library and start dusting the tops of the shelves and file cabinets. The contact and Hei are just standing around. The contact is a short lady in a lab coat with glasses, dark brown hair and medium-dark skin that's characteristic India and other countries near it (though I'm not sure, my geography's rusty at best. I've been a contractor since senior year in high-school so a lot of academic knowledge that wasn't immediately useful went out the window to make room for "Contractor 101", "How to control metals and metalloids", "Eight-hundred ways to Kill a Human Being" as I like to refer to my self-taught lessons as. Though I did get some help on martial-arts training when I just started off.)

"So you wanted to see us?" I ask, after I've identified her as the contact. I rub a coffee stain off the wood desk, painstaking work to be sure.

"Yes. I assume you two are the operatives the Syndicate sent?" She asks.

"Quieter please." Hei says, "And if we weren't that'd be rather unfortunate, don't you think?"

I smirk, Hei just pointed out a flaw and proved why she messed up in one sentence. One of the top rules of the Syndicate; don't mention the freaking Syndicate in an insecure location, especially when talking about or to people involved with the Syndicate.

Her face floods read and she twiddles with her files nervously before catching her own suspicious behavior and correcting her posture and expression to a more emotionless state. I nearly let out a cruel laugh at her attempt to have a cold expression. She's to worried looking to be truly stolid. Not nearly ruthless enough either. I can see that Hei notices her lack of Syndicate-lessness as well through my peripheral vision.

"I received a message that you two would be posted to the janitorial department." She says.

"Are there any other members of the Syndicate here?" Hei asks her.

"There are, but I've never met or seen any of them." She replies.

"I see." Hei says, emotionless as always.

"So why'd you call us in so soon?" I question her, still scrubbing furiously at the coffee stain.

"There's something I had to tell you two right away." She pauses as glances around nervously, afraid of us or discovery; I'm not sure. Though to be in a room with two known contractors can't be comfortable for a normal person. "Don't expect anything from me, ok? I only cooperated with the Syndicate so I could conduct research here. This is my first time doing anything like this. I didn't hear from them for two years and then suddenly..."

Hei rolls his eyes and says haughtily, "You can relax."

"Yes, we won't depend on you." I add, "Contractors are an every-one-for-themselves kind of people even on a group mission. We don't even depend on each other."

Hei nods in agreement, "However, you ought to tell us more about the meteor shard. Just tell me everything you know."

"Honestly, I don't really know anything specific about it at all." She starts, and goes on to explain that a similar object was found at Heaven's Gate just before it disappeared and that the shard might prove useful in some way but she has no idea why the CIA would go to such lengths to steal the shard.

"Well, I have to be going now. If there's anything else I'll find a way to contact one of you." She says and walks out. Suddenly, she sprints for a few steps back in our direction, "Oh! By the way, my name is Meena Kandaswabi(?) if you want to know. It's nice to meet you both. And about the patches on your neck; there's no need for you to wear it. As far as I know there's no way to tell a Contractor from a regular human being."

Hei looks surprised at that and takes his patch off. I nod at her as she leaves and take my patch off as well, by the time Hei looks up from the patch in his hand, Mina is gone.

"We better take care of these, I don't want anyone to find them." I say, making scratches on the surface of the patch with my fingernail; enough to mess up whatever the Syndicate put in or on these things, and then I throw it I the trash and sling the bag over my shoulder after replacing the trash bag.

"C'mon, it's nearly dinner." I say, "But wait a few minutes before coming out, alright? And take some cleaning supplies with you or it'll look suspicious when a janitor comes out of a equipment storage room." I walk out and head to the dining hall.


End file.
